1. Field of the Invention
Mobile having novel drive means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Driven mobiles have been known and used for many years for entertaining babies and young children. As an example, one type of prior art mobile included a plurality of attention getting objects which were suspended from a canopy. The canopy was secured to a side of a crib by clamping means so as to be generally horizontal and a driving means was provided for continually rotating the canopy and the objects suspended therefrom. Usually the objects were shaped to simulate different animals such as elephants, tigers, etc. However, quite frequently the continued rotation of the objects of interest about an axis of rotation did not maintain the babies or young child's interest for longer than a few minutes as the continued rotation rapidly became monotonous. Other types of mobiles were of course known as will be apparant to those knowledgeable in the art.
Many prior art driven mobiles included a spring wound motor for supplying the driving force for the mobile. Typically, many of these motors included a winding key which upon being rotated supplied energy to a spring that in turn drove the mobile. However, with most prior art driven mobiles the mobile was driven continuously by the motor for only a very short period of time, e.g. a few minutes, after which rewinding of the key was required to continue operation of the mobile. This was undesireable since one of the objects of a mobile is to maintain the child's interest for a long period of time without the need for adult attention and the few minutes most prior art mobiles were able to run continuously for made the mobile unsuitable for this intended purpose.
Still another disadvantage of many prior art driven mobiles of the type hereinabove described was that once the mobile had been attached to a crib or some other similar item of baby furniture at a particular location thereon it was difficult to vary the orientation of the mobile at the location in an attempt to obtain the orientation which would maximize the interest of a baby or young child in the mobile.
Some prior art mobiles had sound producing means which often was a music box that was separate from the mobile. Usually the music box had its own driven means which generally comprised a spring motor that was wound and which, like the mobile, ran for a few minutes during which time music was provided and then stopped running. As with the mobile itself, the limited amount of time which the music box could be played for continuously upon a single winding detracted from its ability to assist in entertaining a baby or yound child.
Many of the prior art mobiles that had a spring motor as the driving means included some sort of governor to regulate the speed of the mobile. However, the governor in no way protracted the running of the mobile after the spring motor therefor had been wound.
It is readily apparent that if a driven mobile could be provided which upon receiving a given input of energy would operate for a substantial period of time it would find widespread popularity. Additionally, if audio means such as a music box, chime, bell etc. could intermittently play for the duration of the mobile running time this would further enhance the value of the mobile.